Housing Chronically Homeless People in Single Site Projects NAEH Annual Conference Washington, DC Monday, July 17, 2006
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Transcript Housing Chronically Homeless People in Single Site Projects NAEH Annual Conference Washington, DC Monday, July 17, 2006
Housing Chronically
Homeless People in
Single Site Projects
NAEH Annual Conference
Washington, DC
Monday, July 17, 2006
Presenters
Matthew Doherty, CSH-Resource Center
(San Diego)
Katrina Van Valkenburgh, CSH-Illinois Program
(Chicago)
Kevin Sharps, Episcopal Community Services
(San Francisco)
Steven Shum, CSH-California Program
(Oakland)
1
CSH’s Mission
CSH helps communities
create permanent housing
with services to prevent and
end homelessness.
2
Where We Work
Local offices in Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey,
Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota,
California.
Targeted initiatives in Kentucky, Maine,
Oregon, and Washington.
CSH’s national teams assist supportive
housing practitioners across the U.S.
3
Outline
1.
2.
3.
4.
Defining Permanent Housing
Preparing for Tenants’ Challenges
Effective Service Strategies
Effective Property Management
Strategies
5. Building Community Acceptance
6. Addressing Common Challenges in
Supportive Housing Operations
4
Questions
1. How many of you are currently serving
previously chronically homeless tenants in
permanent housing?
2. How many are considering developing
such a project?
3. How many work primarily on the property
management side?
4. How many work primarily on the supportive
services side?
5. Any urgent questions for us to address?
5
Defining Permanent
Supportive Housing
What is Supportive Housing?
Supportive housing is
permanent affordable housing
combined with a range of
supportive services
that help
people with special needs
live stable and
independent
lives.
7
Housing + Services
HOUSING
– PERMANENT: Not time limited, not transitional;
– AFFORDABLE: For people coming out of
homelessness; and
– INDEPENDENT: Tenant holds lease with normal
rights and responsibilities.
SERVICES
– FLEXIBLE: Designed to be responsive to tenants’
needs;
– VOLUNTARY: Participation is not a condition of
tenancy; and
– INDEPENDENT: Focus of services is on maintaining
housing stability.
8
Who is Supportive Housing For?
People who:
Are chronically homeless
Cycle through institutional and
emergency systems and are at risk of
long-term homelessness
Are being discharged from institutions
and systems of care
Without housing, cannot access and
make effective use of treatment and
supportive services
9
Who is Supportive Housing For?
People who:
But for housing cannot access and make
effective use of treatment and supportive
services in the community;
and
But for supportive services cannot access
and maintain stable housing in the
community.
10
Key Principles
Affordability
Safety and Comfort
Support Services are Accessible,
Flexible, and Target Residential
Stability
Empowerment and Independence
11
6 Dimensions of Best Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
12
Housing Choice
Housing and Services Roles are Distinct
Housing Affordability
Integration
Tenancy Rights / Permanent Housing
Services are Recovery-Oriented and
Adapted to the Needs of Individuals
Evidence-Based Practice
Consensus among experts and policymakers
Responds to documented needs and
preferences of consumers
Documentation of supportive housing
model(s) and agreement on (most) key
principles
A growing body of evidence from research
13
Consistent Research Findings
Housing + Services Make a Difference
More than 80% of supportive housing tenants are able to
maintain housing for at least 12 months
Most supportive housing tenants engage in services,
even when participation is not a condition of tenancy
Use of the most costly (and restrictive) services in
homeless, health care, and criminal justice systems
declines
Nearly any combination of housing + services is more
effective than services alone
“Housing First” models with adequate support services
can be effective for people who don’t meet conventional
criteria for “housing readiness”
14
Preparing for
Tenants’ Challenges
Preparing for Tenants’ Challenges
CASE STUDY – IN YOUR PACKET
QUESTION 1:
What are some of the challenges Margaret may
face as she tries to remain living stably in her new
apartment?
QUESTION 2:
What issues should the property management and
social services staff be prepared to address to
help ensure Margaret can be successful?
16
The Impact of Homelessness
LOSSES: Homeless people risk losing everything that
made the world a safe, predictable and ordered place.
Some of these losses include:
Loss of power
17
Loss of control over their lives
Loss of self-esteem and identity
Loss of pride
Loss of connection to people
Loss of support network
Loss of possessions
Lack of privacy, nutrition, sleep
Loss of routine
The Impact of Homelessness
FEELINGS
Fearful
Uncertain
Guilty
Shameful
Angry
Frustrated
Stigmatized
Worthless
18
BEHAVIORS
Protective, Hoarding
Guarded
Self-destructive
Isolated
Lashing Out
Needy
Sick
Unproductive
Effective Service
Strategies
Successful Service Philosophies
20
Housing First
Voluntary Services
Consumer-Driven / Client-Centered
Working with Substance Use and
Relapse
Developing the Service Program
Deciding What Service to Provide
With the vast array of services you could
provide in your housing, how do you
decide which you will actually offer?
Types of Services
Supportive Services Planning Worksheet:
Menu of Services Available to Tenants
21
Services Make the Difference
22
Flexible and Voluntary
General Supportive Services
Independent Living Skills
Counseling
Health and Mental Health Services
Alcohol and Substance Use Services
Community-Building Activities
Vocational Counseling and Job
Placement
Services Program Standards
Service Program Design
Provider / Tenant Relations
Community Linkages
Property Management / Social Services
Relationship
Crisis Prevention / Safety and Security
Crisis and Emergency Protocols
Recording and Reporting
23
Services in Supportive Housing
Services critical in achieving residential
stability and maximizing independence:
Assistance with budgeting, paying rent
Access to employment
Tenant involvement
Medication monitoring and management
Daily living skills training or assistance
Medical and health services
24
Services in Supportive Housing
Services critical in achieving residential
stability and maximizing independence:
Counseling and support in achieving
self-identified goals.
Assistance in meeting lease
obligations and complying with house
rules
Referrals to other services or programs
Conflict-resolution training
25
Engagement Strategies
Engagement sets the stage for
formal case management and
treatment sessions where in-depth
assessments, counseling, and
referrals can occur on an
individualized basis.
26
Goals of Engagement
Care for immediate needs
Develop a trusting relationship
Provide services and resources
Connect to mainstream services
and social networks to maximize
independence
Helping people stay housed
27
Effective Engagement
Create the proper physical environment
Respect, accept and support people
Develop active listening skills
Let the tenant’s goals drive the services
offered
Help people make informed choices
Be consistent with repeated, predictable
patterns of interaction
Engagement should be non-threatening
28
Effective Engagement
Effective engagement for people with
mental health issues
Effective engagement for people with
substance use issues
29
Effective
Employment
Strategies
CHETA Program
October 2003 five communities received grants from
HUD and DOL through Ending Chronic
Homelessness through Employment and Housing
program.
Bring together the local workforce development
systems and the permanent supportive housing to
increase employment outcomes for people who are
chronically homeless
CHETA: CSH in partnership with Advocates for
Human Potential provide technical assistance to
these sites through the Chronic Homeless
Employment Technical Assistance Center
31
Lessons Learned
In general, people with psychiatric disabilities in the
community have a 10% work participation rate (10%
are employed). In supportive housing, the rate goes
up to 20%, on average.
If your building doesn't have at least 15-20%
working, you want to evaluate:
Are you providing appropriate employment
services?
Do you have barriers for your tenants in your
employment services that you're not aware of
(staff telling them they're not ready, etc.)?
32
Lessons Learned
Don't wait!
Employment can and should be something
discussed at outreach and intake
Planning around employment should start
immediately upon entry into supportive housing.
Many providers falsely believe that the tenants need
time to "settle in" before they can start thinking about
employment – but many have found it's easier to
begin discussing employment at time of move-in.
Tenants may not begin work immediately, but talking
about employment helps normalize them in the new
environment faster, prevents some of the depression
and/or anxiety about moving in that might otherwise
occur.
33
Lessons Learned
Tenants and people with psychiatric disabilities
overwhelming say they want to work.
Supported employment has proven to be a
successful model across mental health and
substance abuse populations, gender, race, income,
and housing setting.
Supported employment programs have reached 4060% employment rates.
Supported employment includes competitive jobs;
rapid job entry (no long pre-vocational job readiness
or club house model); long-term wrap-around support
once placed in a job, without a time limit to that
assistance.
34
Lessons Learned
Project in Indianapolis with a housing first/work first model for
street and shelter homeless has reached a 70+% employment
rate and a 50%+ retention rate at 6 months.
As with approach to mental illness or substance use -- recovery
and maintenance will be a lifelong endeavor, and there will be
stumbling along the way - relapse is normal.
It is a circuitous route, not a straight line from job readiness
training, to subsidized job, to unsubsidized job to long-term
retention.
CSH's Next Step: Jobs program (3 cities, 27 sites for 3 years)
proved that employment is cost effective for all
parties: tenants, government, society as a whole. Tenants,
while taking an immediate loss in income (from less benefits),
had a bottomline net gain later on. Costs were returned to
government through reductions in benefits paid and increase in
taxes paid.
35
Employment Resources
CHETA website: www.csh.org/cheta
CHETA Listserve:
[email protected]
SAMHSA website (look for supported
employment under evidence based
practices): www.samhsa.gov
CSH website: www.csh.org
36
ECS’ Supportive
Services Strategies
Effective Property
Management
Strategies
Forms of Property Management
Project sponsor owns the project or
leases the units and provides the
property management.
Project sponsor owns the project but
contracts for property management
services from a property management
company.
Project sponsor leases units from a
private property owner who continues to
manage the units.
39
Key Principles
of Property Management
Principle 1: Property Management
Supports Mission-Driven Housing
Shared commitment to the success of
the community and each of the tenants
that resides in the building.
Shared commitment to coordinated
communication between social
services, property management and
tenant organizations.
40
Mission-Driven
Property Management
“Double Bottom Line”
Implement key practices related to:
Development, enforcement of house rules
Collaborative approaches to tenant
selection and screening, move-in,
orientation and crisis management
Resident councils
Creation of job opportunities for tenants
Record-keeping
Evictions and problem-solving
41
Key Principles of
Property Management
Principle 2: Establish clear roles and
responsibilities
Commitment to clear roles and
responsibilities for all stakeholders.
KEY PRINCIPLE #3
Establishment of ongoing forum(s)
for talking about and re-negotiating
roles and responsibilities.
42
Key Principles of
Property Management
Principle 3: recognize overlap and builtin tension between roles
Respect for the different roles of
social service provider, property
KEY
PRINCIPLE
#3
manager,
owner
and tenant
council;
Each is necessary and important for a
well-managed building.
Acknowledgment and productive use
of the built-in tension between these
roles/functions.
43
Overlapping Roles
and Responsibilities
Supportive services goals and
responsibilities
Property management goals and
responsibilities
Goals that all staff have in common and
mutually support
44
Overlapping Roles
and Responsibilities
Areas of Overlap Between Property Management
and Support Services Functions
Intake: Tenant Selection and Interviewing
Orientation of Incoming Tenants
Rent Payment and Arrears
45
Dealing with Disruptive Behaviors
Procedures in Crisis
Tenant Grievance Procedures
Tenant Council
Community Building
ECS’ Property
Management
Strategies
Community
Acceptance
Strategies:
The Six Steps
The Six Steps
Intended to be a proactive,
comprehensive, collaborative, and
flexible approach
A framework, not a formula
48
The Six Steps
Step I: Assessment and Planning
Step II: Political Strategy
Step III: Building Active Community
Support
Step IV: Dealing with Community
Concerns
Step V: Legal Strategy
Step VI: Public Relations/Media Strategy
49
Benefits
50
Fewer costs and delays.
Fewer fire drills and surprises.
More sense of your own power.
Increase likelihood of tenant
acceptance in community.
Step I –
Assessment and Planning
Done early in the pre-development
process.
Development team should meet with
loyal supporters (people who can keep
secrets before the project goes public)
to assess and plan.
Assess what local government
approvals are needed, when, by whom.
Assess process, criteria and timeline.
51
Purpose
Separate the Unique from the Generic
What is our organization’s reputation
in its county/jurisdiction?
Who are the leaders in the community
and what is their knowledge of
supportive housing; experience with
our organization; knowledge and
experience with the population we are
serving?
52
What and Where
What is “around” the site; history of the
neighborhood; who are the local
organizations.
What are the neighbors’ issues going to
be.
What are the potential legal issues.
Where are we going to find supporters.
53
Developing Your Strategy
Project may affect staffing needs, timeline
and budget.
Step I must be done first
Implementation of the remaining steps
occurs simultaneously
The process is not linear.
Expect your plans to change, but being
prepared, you will still have an
advantage.
54
Step II –
Political Strategy
Assess the local government
Elected officials, appointed officials, area
commissions, architectural review boards,
city/county/village administrators and staff.
Timing is critical---harder to sway votes when
proposal is already surrounded by controversy.
Ask the question: “If the vote were held tonight,
do I know what the outcome would be?”
Identify solid supporters, uncertain votes and
opponents.
55
Three Types of Situations
Positive: Positive enough; make sure you
don’t lose votes
Mixed: Persuade unknown votes, use
allies to move votes, secure votes you
think you have, determine strategies for
unknown
Negative: Use law; peer to peer usually
works well
Rest of planning will depend upon which
situation you are in, what votes you need
56
Step III –
Build Public Support
Active, vocal community support will help
you get/keep political support, counter
your opponents, tell your story to the
media, and when appropriate say things
that the developer may not want to say.
Second most often neglected step.
Hard to make time for.
Very valuable when there is a problem.
57
To Do
Brainstorm potential supporters
Think broad, wide and creatively of who
and how they can help
Prioritize how much and what supporters
can/will do
Recruit
Get your foot in the door - ask potential
supporters to do something small before
the BIG ASK
Train, support, mobilize, and deploy
58
Step IV – Dealing with
Community Concerns
This is a critical and the MOST difficult
process
It’s about relationship building
Not everyone who asks a question is an
opponent--much less a permanent opponent
Have an alternative to “community meetings”
for getting out and connecting to the
community
Large meetings may help organize the
opposition
59
General Strategy
General Strategy
Peel away the number of issues and
opponents so that you can tell opponents
compelling and true stories of your efforts
In dealing with community concerns there
are always three things going on:
Mutual education process
Problem identification and solving
Building relationships
60
To Do
Canvassing
Open House
One-on-one meetings, small home
meetings
Tours
Thank you letters and reminders
Make no promises you’re not sure you
can fulfill
61
Step V –
Legal Strategy
Can cover several topics:
Any land use issues/zonings you’ll
need for the siting of the project
Responses to opponents who base
opposition on discriminatory statements
or actions
Fair housing and rights of tenants
62
Step VI –
Media Strategy
Most reporters write the story that is
easiest to write
Learn how to make the reporter’s job
easier to tell our story--do some of the
reporter’s work for him/her
Use a prepared response strategy rather
than trying to go out and get stories
63
To Do
Designate and prepare a spokesperson-include supporters and successful
clients/residents
Develop a few clear and simple
messages and alternative stories for
interested reporters
Prepare easily fax-able fact sheets
64
To Do
Offer to give tours of existing
developments
Give lists of references
Follow-up on any coverage you get
with a thank you, a factual correction
If coverage biased, supporters can
write letters to editor or op-ed pieces
Develop ongoing friendly relationship
with media
65
ECS’ Community
Building
Experiences
BREAK!
Addressing Common
Challenges In
Supportive Housing
Operations
Deborah’s Place
Eviction Prevention
Program
Deborah’s Place
Founded in 1985
Serves women who were formerly
homeless
70
Deborah’s Place
Housing and programs include:
Delores Safe Haven
Teresa’s Interim Housing Program
Permanent Supportive Housing
Marah’s: 30 units
Patty Crowley Apartments:
39 units
Rebecca Johnson Apartments:
90 units
Case Management and Therapeutic
Services
Education and Employment Services
71
Deborah’s Place Mission
Deborah’s Place breaks the cycle of
homelessness for women in Chicago
through a continuum of housing options,
comprehensive support services and
opportunities for change provided by
dedicated volunteers and staff, women
succeed in achieving their goals of stable
housing, sustainable income and greater
self determination.
72
Deborah’s Place Mission
73
Development of Eviction
Prevention Program
Always part of Deborah’s Place unwritten
culture that they work with women who had not
been successful in other housing environments
Eviction may at times be a sad necessity, but
defeats the agency’s mission and the agency’s
view of ending homelessness
Deborah’s Place believes that eviction
continues the cycle of homelessness
74
Implementing
Eviction Prevention
Program
Homelessness
Prevention Specialist
Assists women through the application and
interview process for Deborah’s Place housing
and subsidy and advocates for tenants at risk of
eviction
When a tenant is at risk of eviction, this staff
person supplements their regular case
management services
The tenant’s case manager stays in close
contact with the Homelessness Prevention
Specialist during this period of time
76
Intensive Case Management
Intensive case management for first 3
months
Case Managers work together to ensure
that all new tenants receive special
programming to assist them in adjusting
to housing
Ideal is the moment the woman moves
into the building, her case manager or
homelessness prevention specialist are
there to greet her and help her move in
77
Committees
Barring and Termination Prevention
Committee
Oversees barring or termination from
all residential programs
Eviction Prevention Committee
Determines natural consequences for
lease violations
Reviews all decisions made by the
housing team on lease violations
78
Eviction Prevention Committee
Led by the Director of Supportive
Housing
Includes:
Property Manager
Case Management Team
Chief Operating Officer (COO)
79
Lease Violation Process
For when tenant is at-risk of eviction
Eviction Request Form filled out by Property
Manager
Tenant identifies their Advocate
Form sent to tenant, COO, PM, HPS, Case
Manager and Tenant’s Advocate
Tenant and Advocate present their case to
Eviction Prevention Committee
Tenant may meet with the Eviction Prevention
Committee several times to review tasks and
progress
80
Eviction Prevention
Committee’s Recommendation
Committee must write up their recommendation
which must include:
Lease Violation
Interventions staff has made to avoid eviction
If the recommendation is to evict, they must
document how the eviction meets the mission
and values of the organization, how it is a
natural consequence for the behavior and why it
is the only option
They can recommend consequences other than
eviction
81
Final Decision
Committee makes recommendation to
Director of Supportive Housing and COO
who make final decision
If the final decision is to go ahead with
eviction, the legal eviction process would
begin at this point
If the final decision is not to evict, there
may be some requirements that the
tenant will need to comply with
82
The Results
Fiscal Year 2002-2003: 10
women evicted from their
129 units of permanent
supportive housing in two
buildings
Since implementing the
eviction prevention
program July 1, 2003,
Deborah’s Place has only
evicted 5 women during
these three years
3 for unit abandonment
and 2 for nonpayment of
rent
83
Lessons Learned
Having a hearing prior to implementing formal
eviction procedures gives an opportunity for the
tenant to take responsibility to correct their
behavior
Shifting to an eviction prevention philosophy
can be difficult for staff
Requires a lot of staff training and patience
Staff who can’t buy in, have to leave, and this
can be painful
Plan to do Harm Reduction training for tenants,
to help them understand this process
84
Addressing Other
Common Challenges
Questions and
Answers
&
Wrap Up
To Learn More
About Supportive
Housing
visit www.csh.org